I have nothing against the Pogues or U2 or the Dropkick Murphys[1]. Black 47 was probably my first exposure to “Celtic” music. But there’s always something around St. Paddy’s[2] Day, where I start cringing: there’s a lot of great Irish music that people don’t get

Before we get into this too much, I’ll admit I have my tendencies: I love reels and hornpipes; I love fiddle and uilleann pipes. I’ve tried to balance those tendencies out with some vocal songs and slower songs.

I’ll post this a day early so you have a day to get into it. The zip file of all these tunes is at the bottom.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Jolly Beggar/ Reel”
The Jolly Beggar[3] is best known as a reel and this version eventually goes into that, but it starts with the song. Planxty is one of the groups that popularized the Irish bouzouki and the bouzouki work on this song is great.Planxty – The Jolly Beggar/ Reel (mp3)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Walsh’s Polkas”
Polkas aren’t just for Polish music. Patrick Street is made of up some hard hitters in the traditional Irish world–they’re still playing, too, I believe. You’d recognize one of their songs (“Music for Found Harmonium” is used at the end of Napoleon Dynamite), so here’s another one.Patrick Street – Walsh’s Polkas (mp3)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Floating Crwobar/ McGlinchey’s/ the Almost Reel”
Lunasa is one exciting band, both live and on record. It’s probably my favorite of the current crop. Their guitar and bass rhythm section adds a backbone to their solid melody instruments. Here’s the song that got me hooked on them.Lunasa – Floating Crowbar/ McGlinchey’s/ The Almost Reel (mp3)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“The Dawn/ Music in the Glen”
Leo Rowsome is credited with keeping the uilleann pipes alive in a time when there wasn’t a lot of interest in them. He was also a heck of a player, as you can tell in this tune. It takes a lot of control to go into the upper register of the pipes and he just seems to fly through third octave while playing the regulators at the same time.Leo Rowsome – The Dawn/ Music in the Glen (mp3)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Peggy’s Nettles/ Butlers of Glen Avenue/ Mountain Top”
Danu’s another current band that’s doing well with the traditional material. Interesting arrangements and good players are key to their sound. This one does particularly well switching between the three reels.Danu – Peggy’s Nettles/ Glen Avenue/ Mountain Top (mp3)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“The Banks”
78s were pretty important in the continuation of traditional Irish fiddle music. People often cite the 78s of fiddlers like Michael Coleman as inspirations and sources for songs. This track comes off of a collection of Irish fiddle tunes from old 78s.Louis E. Quinn & James O’Beirne – The Banks (mp3)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Flags of Dublin/ Wind that Shakes the Barley”
Seamus Ennis was an ethnomusicologist, song collector, and uileann piper. He a particularly loose and fluid–open, as its called–style on the pipes. While he’s not technically perfect, he’s a joy to listen to.Seamus Ennis – Flags of Dublin/ Wind that Shakes the Barley (mp3)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Banks of Red Roses”
I’ll be the first to admit that this song isn’t slick or pretty, but that’s sort of what I like about it. This is an old ballad.De Dannan – Banks of Red Roses (mp3)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“The Blackbird”
The Bothy Band may be my favorite traditional Irish band and it’s in no small part due to Paddy Keenan being their piper. He’s the best uilleann piper alive, in my opinion. This shows off his virtuosic control of the instrument. The full band comes in later.The Bothy Band – the Blackbird (mp3)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Sunnyside”
Niall and Cillian Vallely are two talented brothers. Cillian is the piper–he’s also in Lunasa. Niall plays the Irish concertina. Here’s a nice duet of the twoNiall & Cillian Vallely – Sunnyside (mp3)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Colonel Fraser”
Jerry O’Sullivan comes to uilleann piping from Scottish piping, where there’s often more emphasis on precision and it shows here. Colonel Fraser is a wonderful hornpipe and here it’s delivered perfectly, not a note out of place.Jerry O’Sullivan – Colonel Fraser (mp3)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Hey, Budweiser, who do you think you’re fooling? Your commercial’s start is set in “Scotland, 1933″. You might think to use Scottish bagpipes, then, in the soundtrack. Or at the very least Scottish smallpipes.

Ethnomusicologists study the coolest stuff. If I weren’t a full time geek, I think I’d want to be an ethnomusicologist. As it is, I have plans for some amateur ethnomusicology.

Personally, I’m not annoyed by ice cream truck music. I grew up in a town that was a little too spread out and sparse for them and Boston didn’t have many, that I remember at least, so it’s only recently that I’ve started hearing them. I still get a little bit of happiness hearing that song or seeing kids run out to meet the ice cream man, though it hasn’t caused me to buy any ice cream from them myself.